National Youth Project Using Minibikes (N.Y.P.U.M.)

Mission Statement

NYPUM provides at-risk youth of America an opportunity to develop self-esteem, strong values and a sense of responsibility using the minibike as a motivational tool.

Process

The program is intense, with
pre-requisites of 4 hours of bookwork and 21 riding lessons before participants can ride the mini bikes on their own. Participants learn how to check for safety, to ride properly, to have respect for the environment and to respect others' property. Each youth also has an individual behavior contract where goal sheets establish how long each youth is allowed to ride. Each goal is worth a certain amount of riding time per week which the youth must earn. This gives the youth an incentive to behave according to the personal goals they have set.

NYPUM also provides a bonding experience. Youth increasingly interact with empathy, helping each other when faced with an obstacle
or get stuck in the mud. Individual progress is seen in all youth who participate. Though many youth have not had the opportunity to ride before, their riding skills progress
in just a few weeks.